


The Perfect Date

by yogurt3200



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angsty Original Percival Graves, Dates gone wrong, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Newt's confused, Percival tries hard, Tumblr's Prompt, mention of death and killing, misunterstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 01:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11430561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yogurt3200/pseuds/yogurt3200
Summary: Percival and Newt had been circled around each other for so long. Finally, the Director asked Newt out on a date, but It went wrong. He never gave up, and tried again and again. In the end, their dates couldn't be more wrong than this, and Newt thought it's time to move on.





	The Perfect Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wanderingquill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingquill/gifts).



> This is Tumblr prompt I got from @wanderingquill. I actually replied the ask, but somehow I felt like I should properly write this because it's such an interesting plot!
> 
> I hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)
> 
> Also big thanks to @vaderina/ladyoftheshrimp for beta-ing for me! xoxo

Newt admitted he is inexperienced in dating and romance, but he did know that a date shouldn’t be like this; wrong and dangerous. Despite all the horrors that had occurred when they went on a date, Newt would blindly accept the Director’s next date proposal—he wanted it as much as Percival did.

 

They circled around each other for a long time, frustratingly pushed and pulled like teenagers. Until Percival finally confessed, and the younger man reciprocated the feeling so they started hanging out together. Their small hangouts never went well, and it got worse when they claimed it was a proper date.

 

Their first official date was terrifying—they accidentally turned a sweet date into catching criminals during which Newt ended up breaking his arm. Percival was extremely upset and beat the hell out of those men, despite Newt insisted that it was just an accident.

 

Then the aurors knew about their secret dates and decided to joke around. Newt chuckled, both shy at their jokes and terrified when one of them mentioned that he couldn’t risk his life just to mess around with the Director. Newt tried to brush the topic off, though it stuck in the back of his mind nonetheless. The crack break at his arm reminded him of the terrifying date all too well.

 

The second date went pretty smoothly; they escaped from the chaotic situation at MACUSA to countryside. Percival looked a touch relax and they decided to paddle a boat. It was like a no-maj romantic novel and Newt was happy. The older man leaned forward and Newt’s eyes fluttered close, tilted his head spontaneously and waited for the kiss. It was like a fairy tale until the boat was flipped by the strong wind and they both dropped into the water. They went back home and never mentioned the date again.

 

They decided to have a break since unfortunate events happened every time they attempt dating, agreeing that maybe they weren’t meant to be together as a couple. They needed to reconsider everything, and it was the best for them to stay away from each other for a while—the looks in their eyes that secretly locked onto each other when they walked past  in the hallway, or in the meeting room said otherwise—Percival couldn’t help but to try again, and Newt was more than happy to oblige.

 

This was the third time Percival took Newt out for a casual dinner; he made it clear that this was a proper date, and Newt was perfectly fine with it. Percival looked overwhelmingly happy when Newt agreed as he blurted out,

 

“I’m dying for our date, you know? You’re going to love it!” He was too excited to notice Newt’s flinch when he mentioned the word _ dying _ . The magizoologist calmed his senses and went along with everything.

 

They apparated to a small lovely diner in Brooklyn. The first impression was pretty great; the interior was cozy and friendly. The aromatic scent of food made Newt think of his mother’s cooking at home.

 

The evening was—so far—pleasant. They talked about everything and nothing, trying to catch up what they missed from past weeks of their separation. His paranoia was lost somewhere along the lovely conversation. Newt felt this weird warm fuzzy feeling inside, his heart was beating faster when their eyes met, or when Percival gave him soft yet intense smile. Newt thought he could live like this; coming home every evening, and having homemade dinner with Percival, at their small dining table and a warm light from candles. Only two of th—.

 

A loud explosive sound emerging from the kitchen interrupted his daydreaming. It followed with a loud shriek and broken objects. They both jumped at the voice—Merlin’s balls! Their table was the nearest to the kitchen. With Percival’s auror reflexes, he dragged both of them down to the floor and used the table as a shield. The entire wall was blown off, and there was a furious fire burning the kitchen. Newt was almost hit by little chunks of destroyed wall, and a sharply broken pipe that was hastily thrown toward him. Fortunately, everyone was fine and no serious injuries occurred.

 

They called it a night, with an apologetic look on Percival’s face.

 

Newt tried to brush it off every time it was mentioned; as horrify as it was, he didn’t want to think about it again. That was quite a terrible date to be honest. When the aurors knew about it they weren’t helping as they said,  _ ‘I told you so. Going out with Graves is literally killing yourself.’ _

 

He avoided Percival for the whole week and started to think that dating was impossible and he should move on. He felt embarrassed for what happened between them, and the idea of Percival wanting to kill him bugged his mind way too much. Instead of talking it out, Newt just blamed himself for being such a disaster magnet when Percival tried to apologize.

 

Percival tried again, he sent Newt beautiful bouquets in hope that Newt’d be impressed. Despite the fact that bombarding his apartment with flowers was a bit too much, but Newt appreciated it nonetheless. He sent Newt rarest flowers one could ever find in the country, and the most beautiful shade of blue roses and pure white lilies. Newt thought his shed needed a bit of beauty blue and this was perfect for it. See? He absolutely had soft spot for the director.

 

Newt cradled the bouquet in his arms while going down his case. The niffler seemed to be interested in the shiny golden card and stole it immediately; Newt didn’t even notice there was a card and it was missing. He put some of the flowers into his vase, then went outside his shed to plant the lillies. Then Newt suddenly realized the lillies were poisonous to Nundus—he didn’t hesitate a bit to burn them and threw all of them away.

 

He didn’t even have a chance to read what’s written on the card, which was now safely ketp in the niffler’s pouch. It said,  _ ‘If it means I could be with you, the end of the world doesn’t matter.’ _ . Percival meant every single word and he hoped that Newt would understand.

 

The next morning Percival’s eyes always searched for the magizoologist and once he found him, the director beamed expectantly at Newt. Realizing what Percival wanted, Newt sighed as he approached the older man and politely told him the truth that he had to burn it all. The look in Percival’s eyes was pure disappointment, he cast his gaze down to look at his feet. Sensing he was upsetting him, Newt quickly added that he loved it and it was beautiful.

 

He didn’t mention anything about the card, and it was an utterly disappointment. Percival thought Newt didn’t want to be with him, and he was sad thinking that Newt might not feel the same way anymore.

 

A week later, Percival kept it simple. When Newt walked to his apartment’s window for The New York Ghost, he saw a cute cookie box placed on top of the paper. Newt doubted if it was from Percival but there was no card, nor a message from the sender. Considering the luxuriousness of the box, the sender must be Percival.

 

Newt ate those delicious cookies with his tea while reading the paper, enjoyed his rather peaceful morning after a round of feeding his creatures. It tasted delightful, though there was a weird feeling at the tip of his tongue; Newt thought it was their secret ingredient as the cookies were incredibly delicious. However, the next minute Newt was coughing brutally, his skin flushed furiously red and itchy, he was almost out of his breath when he helplessly crawled to potion cupboard for his anti-allergy potion.

 

He was allergic to almonds, and why the hell didn’t he see or taste any almonds in those damn cookies!

 

Newt had to owl in sick that day, and the day after. His allergy to almonds was extremely critical and if he was a second slower to the potion cupboard, he might be dead by now.

 

Percival was so worried sick for Newt that he visited the sick red-haired man on his second day of absence. Newt felt a lot better when Percival knocked on his door, so the director didn’t see the serious state of Newt’s sickness. He brought take-out comfort food and Newt hesitantly ate them, but didn’t want to make Percival suspected anything.

 

When Percival asked about cookies, Newt shuddered as the burning lung and itchiness crawled his skin.

 

“I’m allergic to almonds, Percival. And those have them in it.” He swallowed dryly and simply answered. Percival’s face went pale like there’s no blood in his body anymore.

“W-What? And are you alright now? I’m so sorry, Newt. I-I…” Percival stuttered as he couldn’t form the right words. His mind went numb because he could’ve killed Newt with his ignorance. He looked extremely guilty and Newt felt the anger for the older man slightly fade.

 

“I had anti-allergy potion, I’m alright, Percival. It wasn’t your fault because you never knew.” Newt tried to comfort him but the director looked at him with his eyes red and full of anger. He spoke through gritted teeth.

 

“No, Newt. It was my fault. I could’ve killed you because I was so ignorant to not know my love interest’s allergy!” Percival groaned in frustration; why in the world did everything have to go against him when he was trying to woo Newt!? He loved the poor man, Mercy Lewis! Why couldn’t he have a nice chance to prove that they could be together, like a normal person!?

 

Newt looked down to his pale hands, he didn’t know what to say more. Some crazy thought came up in his head and Newt was scared that it made sense in some way, now that Percival mentioned the word  _ killing _ . What if he got it all wrong that Percival wanted to date him? Everything that happened in past month looked more like a murder attempt for sure. He knew it sounded ridiculous—If Percival wanted to kill him he could’ve done it easily, as the powerful wizard he was.

 

_ “You could have, yes.” _ Newt mumbled to himself while Percival was still lost in his angst.

 

* * *

“Oh no, honey, no. Don’t think like that—You know it’s not true!” Queenie said when the Goldstein sisters and Jacob visited him right after the director left. Newt absent-mindedly grazed his fingers against smooth texture of his tea cup as he looked far, far away out of the window.

 

“I’m trying.” Newt grimaced. Jacob was back from his kitchen with the most delicious pastries to munch with his afternoon tea. He felt better and would be able to work tomorrow, though a bit drained.

 

“Please, Newt. I know it’s horrible but Mr. Graves is not a murderer, especially not with you.” Tina gasped at what she heard. Her eyes widened as she looked between her sister and Newt. Jacob startled at the word  _ murderer _ , as if he was convinced Mr. Graves was capable of doing it.

 

“I know, but…I’m sorry I was paranoid.” The red-haired man mumbled and Tina sighed and held Newt’s hand.

 

“You need to rest more, whatever accident happened around you two doesn’t matter, at least for now.” Tina tried to comfort her friend; they didn’t know what exactly happened before that made Newt think this way, but they knew that the two hads eye for each other for so long—they thought Percival and Newt looked good together.

 

Percival didn’t give up despite his guilt for Newt after what happened. He thought giving Newt some space and engaging in small talk at work until Newt was less tense when Percival was around was necessary. The director had no idea why Newt acted like he was scared, but he assumed the allergy had a great impact on Percival in Newt’s eyes.

 

He bluntly asked if Newt wanted to go to a no-maj zoo someday, as there was nothing to lose at this point. As haunted as their last romance attempt had been, Newt inevitably squeaked a  _ ‘Yes’ _ , and Percival’s heart filled with hope. The tension between them seemed to ease up a bit when they arrived the zoo. Newt was delighted and Percival relieved.

 

Percival managed to touch the younger man, pretending to protect him from the crowd. He politely placed his arm around Newt’s lithe back, palm warm and firm against his lower back. Newt, who wasn’t as oblivious as everyone thought, sank comfortably into Percival’s hold.

 

They walked towards the tiger cage and Newt looked at beautiful wild animals in awe, his green orbs sparkled and his face held the same look as the no-maj kids who stood beside him. Percival chuckled at the sight, adored the younger man whose eyes followed every movement of panthers.

 

“They are skinny. I wonder if they’re fed properly.” Newt muttered under his breath, brow furrowed as his eyes skimmed over panthers again.

 

“Their muscles aren’t strong, and their fur looks dull. Why can’t they take care of these poor animals better!? Keeping them in cage is already terrible!” The red-haired man was frustrated and Percival had to put his hand on Newt’s pale nape, caressed him gently for comfort.

 

A loud squeak of woman nearby caught their attention. One of the panthers jumped forward to the fence, looking furious, and the poor worn fence broke at the third jump. It growled and eyes crossed as it looked at Newt. The magizoologist in response grabbed his wand, just in time as the panther leaped fast toward their direction. Percival thought of defensive spell but Newt was faster to control the situation. Despite his wonderful reaction to calm the poor panther, it scratched his arm and ripped his coat, leaving a trail of blood along his left arm, dripping to the floor.

 

Newt was upset and Percival oblivated lots of no-maj right away.

 

Newt was quite certain at that point that Percival actually wanted to kill him. And he was upset, really upset. He let Percival tended his wounded arm and when it was done, Newt only mumbled quiet ‘Thank you.’ and stormed out of the Director’s office immediately. Percival tried to reach him but Newt was fast, shutting the door violently to Percival’s face.

 

Percival wanted to cry so badly as he banged his head hard against the door, giving a loud **_‘thud’_ ** echoing throughout the hallway. He knew that Newt was upset but he couldn’t figure out what was the exact cause of it; Newt wasn’t the one who got angry because a tiger scratched his arm, never. This left only choice was himself—why  was Newt this mad at him? He banged his head against the door again, harder this time.

 

Everyone in the department heard it and they didn’t know whom they should feel sorry for. They would buy their boss a luck potion, if Newt would be giving Percival one more chance. Their boss was grumpier than usual and they felt really sorry for everything that went wrong for him—Tina thought for once Percival needed her help, before everything went down to hell from misunderstanding.

 

* * *

 

“S-Sir…” Tina nervously voiced out when her boss skimmed through her report, he didn’t look up but Tina knew he was listening.

 

“You should talk to Newt. There’s a terrible misunderstanding, sir” At her mention of Newt, the director raised his head up and locked his gaze at her. He sighed, irritated.

 

“Yes, except that he doesn’t even want to stay in the same room with me.” Tina silently groaned at Newt’s behavior; He wasn’t the type to be this sulky over accidents considering he was very much a troublemaker himself.

 

“I’ll help you, sir.” Tina smiled and Percival sent her an appreciated look, though said nothing more. Tina knew Queenie had been trying to coax Newt out of his suitcase for days, and insisted that Percival wasn’t a murderer—Newt just ignored it all. What a stubborn man.

 

Queenie, on the other hand, understood why Newt acted this way; he was serious about them and always got rather high hopes for how their date could lead to something more every time. He unbelievably day-dreamed about their dates all the time. When things went wrong, he felt disappointment surge through his heart every single time. He wished for a nice pleasant date but his hopes got destroyed over and over.

 

Newt, in the end, thought that he didn’t deserve love like normal people. He was angry with his life as much as with the feelings he had for Percival.

 

They didn’t talk, or meet again after that and the director was helpless, no matter how hard he tried to approach young wizard. He tried to move on but it was difficult doing so when he still didn’t know why Newt hated him. Time flew and Percival worked harder than he ever did until Newt came to say he was leaving New York. Percival’s heart was broken, and Newt was no better.

 

“Will you come back?” Percival whispered breathlessly. He was glad he sat in his chair, not standing in front of the magizoologist as he felt his entire body became weak. Newt avoided his eyes as he mumbled his answer.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Percival pressed his lips into thin line to prevent himself for begging. Their eyes met for barely a second and all the feelings inside their chest felt like exploding and Percival impulsively strode across his desk, reaching for the British man who startled when he was brought into a tight hug.

 

“I’d beg you, if that meant you’ll stay, with me here.” Percival hated the vulnerable sound he made but he didn’t care at this point. He hugged Newt tighter, leaned his forehead against Newt’s soft curls. Newt let out his breath he was holding, and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the older man’s torso.

 

“Please don’t. I need to bring the Occamies home anyway.” The magizoologist’s voice trembled as he nuzzled Percival’s black vest to calm the pain in his chest.

 

“I’m sorry, for what I did. I apologize, Newt, but I’d kill to keep you here. I don’t want to let you go.” The younger man looked up, a bit surprised. He shook his head and Percival frowned. What had he done to not even deserved Newt’s forgiveness?

 

“What you did? So you’re admitting that you actually attempted to murder me?”

 

“What? Murder what? You? Why would I murder you?” Percival stepped back to get a better look and Newt pouted. The older man got lost in his thoughts, trying to recall what did he do to make Newt think he was trying to kill him.

 

“All those times, you thought that I wanted to kill you. That’s why you’re mad at me!?” He reached out for the younger man, yet Newt took a step away. He seemed pretty certain of whatever idea was in his head and Percival sighed.

 

“Look, why would I want to kill you in the first place. What benefits would I get from killing you?” Newt frowned deeply at Percival and started to raise his voice as well.

 

“Why don’t you tell me!? No, nope. Don’t tell me anything. I’m leaving anyway.” The red-haired man held his case close to his chest in protection as he stormed out of the office. Newt was mad—he was hurt, and he was confused with everything that had happened in New York. He met the Goldstein sisters to say goodbye, and Queenie cried while telling him that it wasn’t anything close to what he’d been thinking. Newt, on the other hand, simply said that he needed some time for himself.

 

* * *

Newt was gloomy by the time he arrived at the port. He kept looking at his feet, quickly stepping closer to the entrance. He couldn’t sense anything fishy around him and once he realized—He didn’t get a chance to defend himself—a spell hit him and his world went to dark.

 

The red-haired man gained his consciousness feeling a little dizzy. He frowned when he saw nothing, but he could smell the stink, and heard a ringing voice like he was inside the underground tunnel. He blinked a few times, glad that his eyesight was perfectly fine, but the place was dark. Newt searched for his case but he found nothing near him, at that he started to panic.

 

It wasn’t normal that he was being kidnapped, though it did happen sometimes. He did dangerous things and went against bad people all the time. Newt grabbed his wand and cast Lumos Maxima so he’d be able to see where he was. Newt hummed once he realized he probably being kept inside an abandoned tunnel, and he was being chained by spell-proofed chains at both of his ankles.

 

He never once cared of his own life, but he deeply worried about his creatures now. He didn’t know what time it was, and how long did he lost his conscious. Pickett wasn’t with him at the moment and he thought the Bowtruckle must be worried sick. If anything happened to his creatures he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for being such a reckless idiot, sulking like an angry child.

 

“Graves will be heart broken when he knows you died.” The slurred voice come from the other side of the tunnel. Newt put on his guard, and waited for any attack but it never came. The faceless man chuckled lightly, his voice annoyed Newt even more.

 

“Poor man, all he does is love you, but look how you pay him back. You’re cruel, Newt Scamander.” Newt scoffed, despite how much he was scared right now. The man sounded different than any other kidnappers he had to experienced. He sounded cold, heartless, and the vibe which emerged from him was dangerous.

 

“What do you want? Where’s my case?”

 

“Aw, still care about those filthy beasts? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all of them when I kill you. I failed a bit too much, now I don’t think I’ll fail again. You’ve ruined my life, Scamander, now I’ll take yours. It’s a fair play, isn’t it?” Newt heard the man walked slowly toward him and his blood went cold when he saw the man pointed his long black wand at him. He realized, it was this guy, it wasn’t Percival. The man seemed to pick at his expression as he proudly said,

 

“Yes, darling. It was me. What did I do wrong for you to think that it was Graves who wanted you dead?” The man stepped closer and Newt didn’t wait a beat to throw a spell at him, although he was restrained in place. The man quickly caught his move as he cast Expelliarmus, and Newt’s wand was thrown off of his reach.

 

“Who’s gonna save a pretty one like you? Shame.” The wand was pointed right in front of his face. Newt closed his eyes after he saw a spark of green light form at the tip of the wand, he knew that curse, and he knew he wasn’t going to make it. No one ever survive the death curse. He felt sorry, that he misunderstood the man he loved and never had one more chance to apologize—he hoped Percival would forgive him and moved on.

 

There was a cracking sound and an explosive sound that made Newt’s ears ring. He saw a flash of bright light and everything was chaotic. Something hit him and Newt lost his consciousness again without realizing the situation, but he heard someone called his name. That must be the Death, welcoming his arrival, and everything went to black.

 

* * *

“Newt. Newt?”

 

Newt stirred as someone’s voice echoed in his head. He felt a little warm—warmer than he preferred—and the scent was light and refreshing. Maybe he went to heaven instead, that’s why it felt quite good. Newt felt something wet on his face, and he slowly opened his eyes just to meet a dark shadow of a form.

 

“Newt, you awake?” He groaned and tried to blink. The shadow became clearer until he realized it was Percival. The director had a worried look on his face, but the tight frown between his prominent brows loosened.

 

“What…What happened?” Newt’s voice hoarse but before he could think about anything else, a glass of water tipped against his chapped lips.

 

“You were kidnapped, and we went to save you. It was the trafficker we were searching for, for years. I guess he held the vengeance since when you destroyed his plan, and kept all the creatures. It was Queenie who realized something was wrong because they went to send you off at the port, but you weren’t there. Don’t worry, that scum is already in a cell.” Newt looked into Percival eyes and he felt he was tearing up, that Percival’s face looked a little blurry. He propped up on his right elbow as his left encircled around the director’s shoulder, pulled him into a tight hug.

 

“I’m sorry, Percival. I’m a bloody fool to think of you like that. I’m sorry.” Percival smiled, wandlessly put the glass onto the nightstand and scooped the poor Brit properly into his embrace. He climbed to lay down beside the upset man and kissed his forehead gently.

“It’s alright, Newt. I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”

 

“I’m such a fool.” Newt sighed and shifted closer, enjoyed the warmth and soothing scent emerging from Percival’s body. The older man shushed him with his lips—it was light like a feather, and sweet like honey. A rough, warm hand slipped into his curls, and rested firmly on the nape of his neck. It was comforting and assuring, Newt couldn’t ask for more.

 

“I’m serious about us, you should know that.” Percival whispered against Newt’s plump lips, the younger man couldn’t help but to nibble Percival’s lower lips as he talked like so. Oh, he wanted to do this for Merlin-knew how long, cuddling on the bed and kissing.

 

“I…Can we start over?” Newt tilted his head a little to catch Percival’s deep brown eyes, and he saw his own reflection through the warm loving gaze. The director pulled the blanket over Newt, hand caressed his soft freckled cheek and kissed his forehead one more time.

 

“Prepare for a perfect date, now rest a bit more. You were hit by a spell after all.” Newt let out a breathy chuckle but grabbed Percival’s sleeve tighter. He shifted on the bed to accommodate another person better and silently dragged Percival to lay properly with him. He gave the older man a toothy grin.

 

“The perfect date starts  _ right now _ .”

 

Percival only grinned back, wrapped his arms around Newt’s body as a promise to stay right there, and never let go.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like it, gimme kudos pleeeease <3 Comment are pleased, so I know what do you guys think!  
> Or say hello to me, my tumblr's inbox is always welcome! here> http://yogurt3200.tumblr.com/


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